The premise...an Ultramarine Captain that looked both savage and as noble as only a son of Macragge can be.

It wasn't going to be easy. Ultramarines are pretty liberal as far as decorating their armour with skulls, so that wasn't the way.

But what about real skulls? All Chapters use them, but Ultramarines and their most faithful successors don't exactly think it's awesome to go around with a skull on themselves, they denounced the World Eaters for headtaking, during the Great Crusade. So there's a solution, but one-trick ponies don't cut it.

I could go for an Mk5 studded armour, but we've all seen hundreds of Ultramarines wearing those. They're awesome, but I wanted a real challenge, an UM captain should go around in richly detailed armour, with plenty of eagles and such. Also, using Low Gothic (English, for us viewers) instead of High Gothic (Latin) also makes Grim more "down-to-earth".

So enough of wearing bumper stickers stating how much of a bad boy you are. Octavius would have to show it by doing what Space Marines do best. And for all your doctrine-shattering purposes, there's no better tool than a chain-axe, available in every Frothing Sickos R'Us. And why not take two? As long as they're all decorated with inverted Omegas and eagles, everything should be fine...

The wolf-pelt cloak and the left shoulder pad (an adapted Dreadnought leg armour), as well as the crest, weren't my ideas.

Greyall does it again. I've loved your concepts since I discovered them on the B&C forums. Heck, I have a folder full of them, ready for the day when I'm skillful enough to reproduce them as miniatures. You should release an artbook full of these. I'm sure some of us are more than willing to pay through the nose to buy it.

I read on the B&C forums that you were willing to take requests as a respite from drawing the Primarchs. I don't have a B&C account, so I was wondering if you'd like to hear out my concept for an artwork here? You have no obligations to fulfill it, though I promise you that it would be something you've never done before...

Hey, mate, thanks a bunch. I'm not exactly "taking" requests, I'm contacting some people and asking which power-armoured character they would like me to draw. That being said, I'm currently neck-deep in drawings, so at the moment I'm not taking any requests. Worry not, I'll remember you when I have more time, mate.

That is understandable, considering your sheer talent and popularity. Though in all honesty, you really should consider publishing an artbook yourself on characters you've drawn, along with those short stories you used to attach to your work. I know I would buy it.

Uhm, I hate to say it, but with all the fine detail and scaring, and oddly how you've done the Chapter Iconography, makes this look a bit towards Chaos. I just don't see how an Ultramarine could let his armour become so scarred. Chain-Axes also seem a bit out of place

But, thats just what I think. It is still an awesome piece of art, and I can't wait to see what you do next.

Battle-damage plays a symbolic role in my drawings. Since I don't colour or texture my artwork, it not only gives volume and shape to the surfaces, but also serves to show how ruthless a character is. Which means I'd definitely include less scarring and chipped paint in some of my drawings if I coloured them.

Octavius Grim is supposed to be ruthless, even to the point of savagery. And things aren't so black-and-white that the Ultramarines wouldn't accept a brutal warrior if he adhered to the basic tenets of the Chapter. Take this as a battle scene, his pose is clearly one of combat readiness.

As for the axes, the way I see it, the Imperium is getting more and more narrow-minded as time passes, and that includes Space Marines. Less space for armour customization or personal taste and Chapter rites. In the old days (and Octavius was thought of as a post-Scouring Marine), weapon choice was wider, and a marine wishing to use a chainaxe could do so with virtually no problems. So Octavius isn't a common sight, the same way the Chapter Master in the SM Codex (who's wielding twin Thunder Hammers) isn't. They're just weapons. They're free of taint and do what a chainsword does, only better. I don't think he'd get more than a few sideway glances for using those.

Thanks for giving me a quick walkthrough of your decisions. Is this a character from the Horus Heresy books? if so, then chances are I haven't met him yet, as I've only read Horus Rising and about to start Flase Gods.

No, mate, not at all, I'm perfectly fine with criticism, so long as it's polite, as yours was. I do have a tendency to stretch the rope too much with some "unconventional" solutions, so it's normal that I end up having to explain twin chainaxes on a son of Guilliman.

Octavius Grim is not featured in any 40K fluff, he was created by a chap from Bolter & Chainsword.

Hmm...well, best way should be to start with anatomical drawings - or superheros, since they wear awesome costumes made of one-dimensional tissue.

Start with the basics - proportions, anatomy, movement, etc. Try to find a personal style you like, throughout the learning process. But above all...practice a lot, mate. And be demanding with your results. Even when they're awesome.

i half to ask, no matter how hard i try, my erase lines always seem to linger to an extent. Is it that you sketch very lightly, or that you dont sketch at all. I ask, because I love how this peace turned out, and am trying to imitate such an effect. It looks great. I just wonder how you achived it so cleanly.

I want to steal this for a wallpaper on my phone. But my heretic heart is conflicting with this new found love for Loyalist Marines. And an Ultramarine at that. Great job and amazing piece. I know you hear those words a lot but it is all the English language has given us to describe it[link]

Even though my responses may not vary much, that's more due to an incapacity and lack of time to do it properly, for which I apologize. I try to remember every person who takes an interest in my drawings, and I'm very thankful to them.